 |
|
|
MCD steps up drive to seal shops
With officer on leave, estate office in a mess
Sector land rates hiked in Ghaziabad again
400 plots for reserved categories in new scheme
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Over 11.25 lakh sq mt land to be acquired in Noida
Consumer body alleges misuse of LPG
Coaching centre opens new branch
|
|
MCD steps up drive to seal shops
New Delhi, April 1 The MCD stepped up its drive and took action against 466 commercial properties despite widespread resistance even as Union Home Minister Mr Shivraj Patil reviewed the situation arising out of the action at a high-level meeting here. Day four of the action saw agitated traders setting afire an MCD vehicle and pelting stones at its personnel in Najafgarh, injuring two of them, and police lathi charging a violent crowd in West zone. The action was spread across all the 12 zones, barring Narela, with majority of the sealing being done in Karol Bagh (143), followed by 51 in Shahdara North, 48 in Rohini and 45 each in Civil Lines and Sadar Paharganj divisions. In Najafgarh, MCD sealed 19 commercial properties including the popular amusement park Fun and Food Village, and took action against 36 illegal commercial establishments in Shahdara South, 35 in City, 28 in West, and six in South zone. MCD officials said they faced stiff protest from traders and public in several places and made it clear that speedy, effective and smooth sealing process was possible only when the crowds are cordoned off. Acting on a Supreme Court order, the MCD has so far sealed over 1,000 illegal commercial establishments operating in residential areas. The government, meanwhile, said it will seek relief from the Supreme Court for Delhiites in the wake of issuance of a notification by the Urban Development Ministry allowing mixed land use in residential areas. It also dismissed any possibility of a confrontation between the Centre and the apex court as reported by a section of media and said the government will explain the position to all sections of people as well as the court. “The legal officers will explain the notification to the court. They will do whatever is necessary,” Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, who refused to specify the kind of relief they would seek from the court, said. The meeting, called by Mr Patil, discussed the situation in the Capital, including the law and order problems due to protest by traders, arising out of the sealing of commercial establishments. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Harshvardhan sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in the issue, saying the on-going drive has created a law and order problem and put in danger the livelihood of hundreds of traders. “The drive has forced people into a do or die battle. The anger is such that they are targeting public property, vehicles and government officials. The Capital is facing an emergency-like situation,” he said in a letter to Singh. He sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in finding a solution on humanitarian grounds to ensure that the livelihood of thousands is not snatched from them and the honour of the MCD was also maintained. Dr Harshvardhan asked the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of Home Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Lt Governor, Delhi government and MCD to find a way out to stop sealing. In another development, BJP MLA Mr Harsharan Singh Balli was today sent to judicial custody for 13 days. He was arrested this morning on charges of trying to lock up the MCD office in Rajouri Garden yesterday. He reportedly locked the MCD’s Zonal Office in Rajouri Garden in protest against the civic body’s move to seal shops and other business establishments in residential areas. The MCD launched this drive after High Court directions which said that owners of shops should stop conducting commercial activities from residential areas. They were given one month time to close their shops and making alternative arrangements. The MCD was directed to seal these shops after expiry of the dead line given by the court. The BJP activists had yesterday locked the MCD office in Rajouri Garden saying that it was located in residential area, which should be closed following the High Courts direction. There were minor incidents in Rajouri Garden today also. In East Delhi, the BJP-led traders’ association had stopped traffic in the area. Former Delhi Chief Minister Mr Madan Lal Khurana has appealed to the President to issue an ordinance as it was done in Maharashtra to protect the unauthorised construction in Ulhas Nagar. He said that he would wait for one week; it the government did nothing to stop the MCD drive to seal the shops, he would take out seven days’ “yatra” throughout the city to mobilize people to come on road against the MCD action.
|
|
With officer on leave, estate office in a mess
Gurgaon, April 1 Work on thousands of important files, allotment letters, court cases, completion certificates, transfer of plots, possession of plots and building plans has stopped as no other officer has been appointed or given additional charge to look after this time-bound work. According to official records of HUDA, Ms Chaudhary had gone on leave on March 8. She will resume office on April 20. HUDA had auctioned 23 commercial plot sites at the rate of Rs 271 crore against the reserve price of Rs 54 crore on February 16. All these 23 allottees had deposited the first installment of 15 per cent of total payment but they were not issued the allotment letters, informed an allottee. The financial institutions would not sanction the loan without the allotment letter, he lamented. He further added that they were now in a dilemma as to what to do. The allotment letters of some industrial plots were to be issued before March 31 as the new revision of rates would apply on them after March 31, informed an industrial old case allottee. At least 300 residential plot owners had applied for the building plan in March to start construction work and save their time-bound extension fees. Their building plans were not sanctioned due to the absence of the Estate Officer and thus these plot owners had to pay extension fees for 2007 for no fault of theirs, said Mr Rakesh Sharma, who had applied for a building plan. Mr Lalit Kumar, owner of house no 767, Sector 39, informed ‘The Tribune’ that he completed all formalities and deposited the required amount for taking the completion certificate on March 22. But he was told to come after April 20 when the Estate Officer rejoins duty. According to the rules and regulation of the department, he cannot shift to his new house without taking the completion certificate. More than 200 completion certificates are pending in the EO’s office. An officer revealed that 10 cases arrive on an average every day for permission for transfer of plot and final transfer letter. The time-bound court cases were another matter of serious concern, informed the officer. The files relating to financial matters ending the previous financial year 2005-06 were also pending. After great persuasion, the Administrator, Gurgaon Zone, HUDA, Mr S. P. Gupta, conceded that important files were pending in the Estate Office. He added that the Land Acquisition Officer (LAO), Mr Amardeep Singh, was given the additional charge of the EO for 3-4 days but thereafter he was relieved as work concerning land acquisition was getting affected in his department. Mr Gupta elaborated that all statutory powers rested with the EO and no other officer was empowered to sign these important documents. However, the department would soon appoint someone and all pending works would be sorted out on priority basis with extra staff, claimed the Administrator. The HUDA office was aware the EO was overburdened and had already demanded one more Estate Officer for Gurgaon as the city had 57 sectors, including three industrial and institutional sectors, added the officer.
|
|
Sector land rates hiked in Ghaziabad again
All integrated city areas and
villages and colonies across the Hindon have been impacted. The prices
of properties in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar have constantly been
witnessing tremendous increase in the past few years due to the
proximity of the area to New Delhi. Sector rates in Gautam Budh Nagar
were hiked last month. Assistant Stamp Commissioner Vijay Dev Sharma
said the sector rates this time had been hiked on the basis of increase
in market rates of property. The sector rates will be low or high
depending on the location of the property in question. In multi-storied
flats with lifts and swimming pools, the hike would be 20 per cent. In
view of the announcement of the hike in sector rates of property, the
agents and stamp vendors charged between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 from each
person who came for registration of property on the last day of the
financial year after which the new rates would have come into effect.
|
|
400 plots for reserved categories in new scheme
Noida, April 1 According to reliable sources, some political leaders were opposing the handing over of Express City to private property dealers and colonisers. The main plea is that farmers and entrepreneurs of reserved category will be deprived of the plots. To address this grievance and objection, the new scheme in the adjoining Sector 100 is being brought forward for the reserved categories. There will be 400 plots of different sizes in this scheme. The smaller plots will be of 112 sq mt size while the bigger ones will be of 300 sq mt. According to highly placed Noida Authority sources, it is for the first time that a residential sector is being developed exclusively for reserved categories. All sorts of rumours have been doing the rounds regarding NRI City being converted into the Express City project. The Noida Authority has published the Express City project which is being opposed by BJP leaders. In all schemes brought out by the Noida Authority so far, 50 per cent plots are for the reserved category and 50 per cent for the general category. The reserved categories comprise farmers, entrepreneurs and Noida Authority employees. There is a long list of Noida farmers and entrepreneurs who are still awaiting allotment for a residential plot. Some time ago, a scheme for Sectors 44 and 93 was brought forward, but it became mired in controversy.
|
|
Over 11.25 lakh sq mt land to be acquired in Noida
Noida, April 1 The Noida Authority is expected to earn Rs 1330 crore in the new financial year from the allotment of these plots. Accordingly, provisions have been made in the financial year 2006-2007. But, being embroiled in the controversy regarding a residential scheme, the authority could allot only 40,000 sq mt land to a group housing society. Seven lakh sq mt land is planned to be sold under this category. The authority has, according to sources, fixed a target of four lakh sq mt for the new financial year. About 3.60 lakh sq mt land has been allotted in the current year. As much as 4.25 lakh sq mt land is to be allotted for industrial purpose in Sectors 66 and 88. Some 800 residential plots are to be allotted in the new year. Top honours have been claimed by the institutional category which has registered the highest record. The Noida Authority had allotted 12 lakh sq mt land in this category against a target of 4 lakh sq
mt. In the next financial year again, a target of selling five lakh sq mt land has been fixed. As per the Noida Authority estimates, Rs 10 crore will be spent on the development of Noida Stadium, Rs 200 crore on the Metro project, Rs 135 crore is earmarked for flyovers while Rs 120 crore has been set aside for
EWS, LIG and MIG flats.
|
|
|
Shop-sealing drive a classic Catch-22 situation
by Raahul Gul Even Hercules himself may find it difficult to achieve this feat, even with the help of Hermes and Athena, the mythical Greek deities sympathetic to his cause. It certainly doesn’t look like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is quite up to it. But then, when the Supreme Court of India tells you to do something, you just got to do it, no questions asked. Even if the order entails sealing shops and other commercial establishments functioning in residential areas of the Capital, a directive that’s even more difficult to comply with than that of demolition of illegal constructions by Delhi High Court. And so it was that the MCD officials commenced the shop-sealing drive at the expiry of the deadline set by the apex court. Except that it has been one exercise whose chances of success are even more dismal than the demolition drive. The reasons are not hard to see. Although the inhabitants of properties targeted by the MCD’s demolition squads didn’t exactly sit back calmly while the bulldozers and hammers got to work, it wasn’t their livelihood that was at stake, except in a few cases like MG Road. But sealing shops is obviously a very different ball game altogether, because here you are talking about virtually snatching away their owners’ sole means to feed themselves and their families. Not surprisingly, then, last week saw huge crowds in just about every locality visited by the MCD teams, with many traders declaring their intentions to resist the sealing drive even if it meant bodily harm in the way of police intervention. It’s another thing that the police have been rather reluctant to pitch in so far, as various MCD teams have been complaining, despite the city police chief maintaining that that was not the case. The same cannot be said of politicians. On Wednesday, two MLAs – Vijay Singh Lochhav (Mahipalpur) and Dharamdev Solanki (Palam) — turned up to oppose the drive in Mahipalpur, haranguing the MCD officials to spare a particular showroom. It couldn’t be the power of votes for sure; smells more like that of money, as certain quarters alleged. The dramatic statements emanating from former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, on the other hand, would seem to be inspired by his longing to capture popular sentiment for a possible return to the Capital’s mainstream politics. In a press conference on Thursday, he reiterated his burning desire to oppose the sealing drive even if he had to “sacrifice” his precious life, because the Capital was like a ‘temple’ for him which he could not bear seeing being “ruined like this”! On Friday, he threatened to undertake a ‘fast-unto-death’ right outside the Prime Minister’s residence and declared that the sealing drive was reminiscent of the partition days in 1947. He also led a crowd of about 1,500 agitated traders who actually tried to give the MCD a taste of its medicine by trying to ‘seal’ its Zonal Office in Rajouri Garden. He was then granted his wish of being arrested, alongwith the ever-faithful Harsharan Singh Balli who, on his part, announced plans to gherao the residences of the SC judges who had ordered the sealing drive besides breaking open MCD seals on shops in Sadar Bazaar. Sensing the public resentment, the MCD’s Standing Committee on Friday passed a resolution to include 229 additional roads in the list of residential areas where commercial activities will be permitted. This comes in the wake of an eleventh-hour notification issued by the Urban Development Ministry to permit shops and offices on 118 roads. The chances are good that the remaining traders will not give in to the MCD drive without pitched battles through next week, and one can only hope that Delhi’s streets don’t boom with gunfire and get soaked in blood when confrontations turn really ugly, as they most likely will.
|
|
Consumer body alleges misuse of LPG
Faridabad, April 1 In a letter to the chief regional manager of the Hindustan Petroleum, Haryana, a consumer rights organisation, ‘Citizen Welfare Association’ (CWA), has complained that “the consumers were faced with undue harassment and exploitation due to the malpractices, resulting in short supply of LPG for domestic purpose”. According to Mr Trilok Chand Gupta, president of the association, even as the officials concerned have failed to check the misuse of the LPG meant by the agencies, it was forcing’ the consumers to buy various accessories from them at higher rates”.
|
|
Coaching centre opens new branch
New Delhi, April 1 Inaugurated on March 25 by Mr Kaul Singh Thakurji, Minister for IPH, Govt of Himachal Pradesh, the institute is going to be a boon for all medical and engineering aspirants of the region. With the most modern classrooms and amenities, the centre also has a well-stocked library. Sri Chaitanya had 4,125 success stories in 2005, including 214 ranks in IIT-JEE, 1,750 ranks in PMT and 1724 ranks in AIEEE among others. With over 100 branches, 1,20,000 students and 6,000 faculty members, Sri Chaitanya is now recognized as one of Asia’s best coaching institute for its brilliant success rate.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Ghaziabad, April 1